Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Date of Award
5-2013
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Larry Miller
Committee Members
John Whitehead, Dennis Hamm
Abstract
The jury method is a unique social setting in the Criminal Justice system that provides opportunity for social influence to occur. Questions about the formation of jurors’ individual and collective decisions have stimulated a great deal of interest and research. This study is a review of the juror decision-making process and the various sources of influence that can affect it. Mock jurors were asked to review a mock criminal trial as well as the testimony of 2 witnesses. Upon reviewing the case, a predeliberation verdict (guilty or not guilty) and the degree of certainty of that decision was made. Once deliberation had occurred and ended, the jurors were asked to make a postdeliberation verdict. This study was conducted to see if conformity would take place during a mock jury deliberation, and how influential the actual deliberation was on the jurors. The results demonstrated that not only did jury deliberation influence individual juror’s verdicts, but it made their verdict confidence stronger as well.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Bowser, Ashley S., "To Conform or Not to Conform: An Examination of the Effects of Mock Jury Deliberation on Individual Jurors" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1164. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1164
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.